Pit Bull Transport from Louisiana: One Year Later

Baby Benne, in the shelter


About a year ago, Benne and Hazel made the long journey from Louisiana to Pet Haven in search of their forever homes. Their trip was the culmination of weeks of conversation and organization. Both dogs were in a high-kill shelter in Louisiana; both dogs had advocates that worked on their behalf to remove them from the shelter and get them into temporary foster homes. After this heroic effort, the outreach began. Hazel and Benne's rescuers contacted Ann S., Pet Haven's Intake Coordinator, who agreed to take the two dogs.

A truly amazing effort of more than 15 transporters drove the two Pit Bulls from Louisiana to Minnesota, leaving the 19th of April and arriving at their destination on the 21st of April.

Hazel had spent at least a year in a shelter and was still only about a year old. Benne had spent almost all of his young life (he was about nine months of age when he arrived at Pet Haven) in a shelter, too. A Minnesota foster family had learned about Benne and was waiting to take him home. Hazel tested positive for heartworm and had to spend a couple of months at the our vet clinic while she underwent two treatments to kill the worms and had to bear two months of almost no activity. It can be lethal for a heartworm infested dog to get her heart working hard, so no running, no play, no excitement. Lively Hazel could not have been thrilled with this situation but she survived it with her good nature intact. Now she, too, was ready for a foster home!



Benne and Hazel were with us for several months. Benne was adopted last month into an all-girls household. His new best friend -- besides his new human mom, of course -- is a nine-month old kitten. Hazel's foster mom realized that she could not part with her sweet 'pocket pit' and made it all final this week.

One of our volunteers commented, "It takes a village to raise a Pit Bull" and the efforts of so many well-meaning people on behalf of these two dogs proves that to be true.

Thanks to everyone in Lousiana and Minnesota who cared, who advocated, who drove, and finally, thanks to those wonderful people who opened their hearts and homes to Hazel and Benne. A special thank you to Trisha S. and Melody K. on behalf of Benne and to Ann S. and Diana S. on behalf of Hazel.

Benne: A big cuddle bug

Benne's name was originally pronounced "Ben-ay" (French), but after a few months in Minnesota its morphed into "Bennie" (our apologies to his New Orleans roots). Benne is a gorgeous 15 month old pit bull terrier. He is currently hanging out in a foster home with a couple of dogs and a cat named Henry. As you can see, he's hard at work attempting to broker a peace deal on behalf of dogs and cats everywhere. He gets along well with the dogs in his foster home as well. He likes to play with them and also respects the fact that he is not the one in charge in this dog pack.

Benne LOVES to snuggle. He would make a great foot warmer this winter. If your lap is cold, he'd be happy to sit there as well. If you need to warm your hands as temps drop this fall, Benne would like to remind you that dogs have warm fur and he would be happy to offer his services as a petting recipient. If you share Benne's belief that there's no such thing as "too big to be a lap dog" and want to meet this sweetheart, email pethavendogs@yahoo.com.

National Pit Bull Awareness Day!

Today is the 2nd annual National Pit Bull Awareness Day!

A Rotta Love Plus, a twin cities Pit Bull and Rottweiler rescue, is hosting a picnic at Minnehaha Park this afternoon to celebrate.


We at Pet Haven could not resist this opportunity to highlight the wonderful bully breed dogs that we have in foster care right now:

Dutch -- also known as Komo in his foster home -- is a 1 year old lab/bully breed mix. He is loving life in his foster home where he gets to go to work with his foster mom who works with one of Pet Haven's doggy daycare partners. He loves playing with other dogs and he still has a lot of puppy energy in him at just 1 year of age so this arrangement is a dream come true!



Hazel is a 2 year old Pit Bull. At only 37 pounds, Hazel is a petite little thing. Hazel gets long well with other dogs -- too well, she LOVES to play and she will play and play and play until the other dog collapses from exhaustion. She is not a hyper dog though, without a doggy playmate around she is happy to entertain herself a toy or snuggle in with her humans.

Bishop is a 10 month old American Staffordshire Terrier mix. He came into Pet Haven from a hoarding situation when he was just a few months old. He is loving life in his foster home where he has three people all to himself. Bishop likes to play with other dogs, but he doesn't like to share his space and people with them on a long term basis. He would love to take trips to the dog park, but would like to be the only pet in his forever home.

Benne is a 1 year old Pit Bull. Benne has come a long way from his sad start in life. He was dumped at a shelter as a young puppy. If you were to meet him now you'd never never guess there was a time that he didn't know love. He gets long well with other dogs and kids. He's still a puppy so he can get rambunctious and needs a family who will commit to continuing to train him to be a good canine citizen.





The 2009 legislative session starts on January 6, 2008. If another bill is introduced to try to ban specific breeds of dogs, Pet Haven will be involved in the fight to block its passage. To learn more about Pet Haven's advocacy efforts at the state capitol, check out our advocacy blog, the advocacy page on our website or email Advocacy@PetHavenMN.org